The present invention relates to an electrical connection structure for electrically connecting a first terminal and a second terminal by a connection member.
In recent years, electric vehicles having a rotating electrical machine as a driving force source of a vehicle, and hybrid vehicles having an engine and a rotating electrical machine have attracted attention in terms of fuel economy, environmental protection, and the like. A drive device for such vehicles requires a control device for controlling the rotating electrical machine. Terminals electrically connected to the rotating electrical machine, and terminals electrically connected to the control device are connected by connection members such as bus bars.
In general, the connecting work in such an electrical connection structure for electrically connecting two terminals is performed in the state where each device including the terminals to be connected by the connection members is fixed in a case or the like. For example, in an example of such a vehicle drive device as described above, the terminals provided in the rotating electrical machine and the terminals provided in the control device are often connected by the connection members after the rotating electrical machine and the control device are assembled in the case. In this case, the space for the connecting work may be limited depending on the arrangement of the devices, and thus, the shape of the connection members, the arrangement of the terminals, and the method for connecting the connection members and the terminals need be determined so as to ensure the workability of the connecting work.
As a technique regarding the above problem of the workability, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2007-221962 shown below, for example, discloses an electrical connection structure in a hybrid vehicle drive device. According to the invention disclosed therein, the direction of supplying bus bars, serving as connection members for electrically connecting an inverter to wiring members connected to a rotating electrical machine, into a case is made to be the same direction as the working direction of screwing the bus bars into the inverter and the wiring members, whereby the attaching work of the bus bars can be facilitated.